


A hunting we will go

by Hectatess



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dean is a Little Shit, Demisexual Castiel (Supernatural), Destiel - Freeform, Hunter!Anna, Hunter!Cas, Hunter!Gabriel, M/M, Sabriel - Freeform, angel!Sam, angel!dean, brief Major Chatacter Death, reverse!verse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-01-24 03:55:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18563407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hectatess/pseuds/Hectatess
Summary: Castiel is a Hunter. And a damned good one too. His cousins Gabriel and Anna sometimes ask his help, or he theirs, but he usually hunts alone.Then, after one hunt, Cas bumps into someone, who turns his world view upside down.To top it off, he knows he doesn’t have time to care. Pretty soon he is going to meet a sticky end.And he does, for a surprising short time...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The AMAZING artist C-kaeru (she has a Tumblr, https://c-kaeru.tumblr.com/) made this super sweet Reverse!verse art, with a Hunter!Cas and Angel!Dean, and I love them. Then she gave a few pointers as to how she saw this verse, and I just needed to write this. So I asked her if I could, and she thankfully said Yes!  
> So, this largely follows Canon, but with some big differences. Cas and Dean are NOT the same characters, so they will not have the same background and do things a little different.  
> All in all, I hope I won’t go too far OOC, but we shall have to see.

 

Even though it was dark, he could hear the crunch of feet running at him, and he swivelled around, fast as lightning.  
The wet squelch with which his knife slid through the abdomen of the charging guy, should have made him queasy at the least, but Castiel, (Cas to his, very few, friends and, very distant, family.) didn’t even blink before he spun around and used the machete in his other hand to chop the head off cleanly.  
He stayed in his defensive crouch for a while longer, but it seemed the three bodies on the forest floor were it for today.  
He righted himself and stretched languidly. “Merde,” he cussed softly. “Those bloodsuckers were more alert than I thought.”  
He sauntered back through the dense forest, dawn colouring the sky lighter.  
“Aaah,” Cas sighed as he came up to his car, gleaming white on the forest road where he’d left her. “Bonjour, Honey. I am very glad to see you again. It means I live to hunt another day.”  
He popped the trunk, grabbed a rag from the back and meticulously cleaned both his blades.  
After chucking the machete in the secret compartment, he pulled off his black jacket and his bloodstained jeans and shirt, unconcerned about the cold or prying eyes, and changed his clothes, cussing under his breath when he noticed his last pair of clean jeans had a ripped knee.  
He pulled a dark-grey henley over his head, shucked his jacket back on, closed the trunk and slipped his trusty knife back in its sheath on his leg.

Satisfied he’d done what he needed to, Cas walked around to the front of his car.  
He smiled softly at her, before lightly leaning his butt on her hood, crossing his legs at the ankle and his arms over his chest.  
As the day began, birds waking up, woodland critters scurrying about looking for food, Cas waited patiently, his deep-blue eyes trained on where the forest road curved around a bend.  
A quick smile flashed over his face when he heard the crunch of tyres stop, a door clicked softly and then the tyres moved again. His cousins never remembered that he had excellent hearing.  
A wholly unremarkable pick-up trundled towards him in the orange morning light, but Cas didn’t move.  
It stopped four feet from him, cutting the engine off.  
The door opened, and his cousin jumped from the cabin.  
“Damnit, Cassie!” he cursed, running a hand through his caramel locks. “You were supposed to wait.”

 

Not moving from his perch on the hood, Cas shrugged. “Soit,” he offered, causing his cousin to sigh theatrically. “You did not go in there already, did you, Cas?” he demanded to know, crossing his own arms over his chest and shifting his weight onto one leg impatiently.  
“Eh,” Cas supplied indifferently. “It was nothing, Gabriel. Only three in the nest. I handled them.”  
Throwing his hands up and rolling his golden eyes, his cousin let out a frustrated moan.  
“This!” he called out, carefully not looking at Cas, who tensed ever so slightly. “This is why you are a lousy teammate!”  
Chuckling, Cas repositioned his legs. “True, but it is also why I am an exceptional hunter.”  
Without warning, he ducked and spun, grabbing his other cousin around her waist, flooring her neatly.

“Oof!” she punched out as she landed on the dry leaves, her red hair escaping the beanie she wore.  
“Hello, Anna,” Cas grinned.  
Behind him, Gabriel cursed loudly. “How the fuck did you know?” he demanded to know, while Cas helped Anna to her feet.  
“Simple,” came the wry answer. “You two keep forgetting I have sharp ears and an equally sharp nose.”  
Two noses scrunched up in wonder, making Cas grin wider. “I heard you stop and I heard the door close on Anna,” he explained.  
“That doesn’t explain how you knew I was there,” Anna groused, picking dead leaves and dry pine-needles out of her hair and off her jacket.  
“Gabriel is partially to blame there, cousin dear,” Cas smiled, but throwing up a hand before Gabriel could splutter his objection.  
“He was so carefully not looking that way. But also blame yourself. Is that...” he sniffed slightly. “...Estée Lauder’s White Linen you’re wearing?”  
Anna gaped. “What? How? I mean... it’s just one drop!”  
Cas shrugged. “It was all it took for me to sniff you out. At least you remembered to not wear your ‘Engelsrufer’ this time.”  
He turned around and opened the door of his car. “Meet me at the motel?” he asked teasingly. “I do enjoy your company.”  
Before either cousin could answer, he ducked in, slammed the door shut, started the engine and eased his way around the truck in a way that should’ve been impossible with a big car like his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation French - English:  
> Merde - shit  
> Bonjour - Hello (lit. Good day)  
> Soit - similar to whatever.


	2. Chapter 2

He was sitting on his bed, legs stretched, back against the headboard, when Gabriel and Anna arrived.  
“Cassie,” Gabriel started. “You can’t just go out there alone, bucko!  
Raising one eyebrow imperiously, Cas cocked his head at him. “I cannot? I thought I just did.”  
Gabriel rolled his eyes and turned away, leaving it up to Anna to explain.  
“Castiel, you could have gotten hurt. Badly. And how would we have known? Hunting alone is a recipe for disaster!”  
Sitting up straight, Cas glared at his cousins. “I have hunted alone for nearly a decade. And I still live. My training at the Milton compound has helped, I agree, but I have hunted alone more than I have hunted with a partner. As you said yourself, Gabriel, I’m just not a teamplayer.”  
Anna sat down on the edge of his mattress, the re-donned ‘Engelsrufer’ necklace chiming softly as she moved. “Castiel, we’re grateful you agreed to come help us, but it was supposed to be as back-up. An extra set of eyes and hands. Not for you to go in on a kamikaze mission.” She grabbed his hand where it lay on the bed. “As hard as you might find it to believe, Castiel Shurley, we, Gabe and I, we care about you. We don’t want to lose you.”

Cas nearly scoffed and told them they would anyway.  
In the back of his head, a calendar was ticking off, and it was almost nearing it’s end. Well over half of it was crossed off. Only 3 more years, two weeks and a day until it ran out.  
“I don’t see why that should matter,” Cas stonily replied. “I’m 26. Most of our kind don’t make it far past 30.”  
Anna blanched, her vivid red hair and ice-blue eyes in stark contrast with her now alabaster skin.  
“Jesus Christ on a motorbike!” Gabriel erupted. “Cas! You don’t _say_ stuff like that! You _should_ care! Hunter or no, you should have a shred of concern about your own _life_. _We_ do.” He motioned between the trembling form of his sister and himself. “I know I would be very upset if you croaked. On the job or off it.”  
Cas just shrugged. “Je m’en fout. I like you, Gabe, and you, Anna, but my living... it will not make my mother return to me, nor my father. I am just handy until my time is up.”  
Gabriel was clenching his jaw tightly, golden eyes swimming with tears.  
“You’re more than that, sweetheart,” Anna whispered. “Charles would not...”  
Snarling, Cas pulled his hand free. “ _Chuck_ left me to fend for myself since I was 15. Don’t tell me he would want anything for me.”

Casting him a knowing glance and smirk, Gabriel scoffed. “Yet you still call him by the name he adopted after he came to the States. Why would you?”  
Growling deep in his throat, Cas left his bed to pace. “Why not? The name Charles Sully meant nothing to him, nor me. Chuck Shurley is the name my father uses for himself, so I use it too.”  
Anna shook her pretty, red head. “Castiel, he only dropped that name because it reminded him of your mother. As my second cousin, Naomi is supposed to be closer to me than you, but...”  
This time Cas did lose his temper and he kicked out, denting the leg of the bed and jostling Anna.  
“Naomi Novak is even less to me than Chuck is!” he growled, his already deep and gravelly voice even deeper and more rasping. “She abandoned me. Left Chuck and me alone so suddenly, father thought she’d been possessed. Making him tumble into the Hunter life so fast, even your family was amazed.”  
He paced harder, his deep blue eyes burning like fire. “I don’t even know where she is now.” He noticed Gabriel opening his mouth and cut him off before he spoke. “And I don’t want to know!” he snapped harshly.  
Gabriel recoiled slightly, then deadpanned.  
“Fine. Be that way,” he huffed softly. “Just do me a favour. Stay alive and keep in touch for once. Even if you don’t value yourself, we do. You have our numbers. Coming Anna?”  
His sister bit her lip, blue eyes looking up at Cas with something like longing in them.  
Cas shuddered internally. He wasn’t interested. He never was. Not since Balthazar.  
“Go with him, Anna,” he sighed. “I promise to not be stupid and check in every month.”  
Anna ducked her head and left, softly closing the door behind her.

As soon as they were gone, Cas flopped himself on the bed.  
This was why he avoided working with family as much as he could. The Milton family had a name as Hunters, but they were also his mother’s relatives, and he never wanted to hear another word about her.  
When he was training at the family compound, Balthazar had hinted that there was a solid reason for her disappearing like that, but Cas never asked about it and he didn’t care. In fact, he made a deal to not ever have to see his mother until his dying day.  
Which, as of last night, was yet another day nearer.  
Cas sighed as he grabbed a bottle of JD. He should forget all that and celebrate the ending of another nest of bloodsuckers.  
Balthazar would have insisted on going to a bar, but Cas, Cas like to stay indoors to have his fun. Not like he’d pick up somebody to party with anyway. The mere thought made him recoil. No, Cas was best alone. For the job, for his fun, for wallowing in sadness, alone was the way to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation French - English:  
> Je m’en fout - I don’t give a fuck


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost forgot to mention. Cas is bi-lingual. He spent his formative years in France. So, his speach is sprinkled with French stuff.   
> I will give translations. (And go back and do it for chapters 1 and 2 as well.)

His phone buzzed with a message as he drove the silver knife, dipped in lambsblood, home in the djinn’s chest.  
Wiping his hand across his brow, he smeared a thick line of blood over it and he winced.  
“Ah zut. Why won’t these monsters die less messy?”  
He pulled his knife free and dropped it on the corpse for now, to check his message.

**Received: Gabriel**   
**Hi there, cous**   
**Anna and I could use your help in Canton NY.**   
**Probably a water-sprite going nuts. People are drowning on dry land.**   
**Please contact us, and DON’T GO OFF ALONE!**   
**Gabe**

Cas sniffed in the cold air of the abandoned freezer house and picked up his knife, wiping it clean on the dead djinn’s pants.   
“Well, I guess I could hop over. I’m close enough. I’m in Watertown, so Canton is only two hours off, isn’t it? My Honey might like the short drive for once.” He glanced at the molten handprint in his jacket sleeve and scowled at the djinn now. “Thank you for having bad aim. My exposed skin was two inches lower. Now I’ll have to get a new jacket first. Cette chose t’es.”  
He peeled off his jacket and cut it to strips to use as tourniquets for the surviving victims.   
“Who.. who are you? And... where’s mommy?” the first one one stammered as she recovered. She was at least Cas’ age and he loathed the djinn even more for degrading her like this.  
Her eyes slid past him and saw the dead djinn. Predictably, she screamed.   
“Sssshhhhh,” Cas comforted her. “It’s ok, chèrie. He was... a criminal. He drugged you, and all these others. I am... unsure of what he planned to do, but I had to kill him. To protect you, and myself.”  
She took a shuddering breath. “S..so mom being back... wasn’t real?”  
Looking away, Cas whispered under his breath. “Connard! Je te déteste!”

The girl looked at him, still obviously dazed. “What?”   
“Nothing... nothing, cherie. Come. I will take you home.” He gestured at the only other living victim. “And this gentleman too, once I cut him down.”  
Again her eyes wandered and she teared up. “But what about them?” she whispered, and Cas clenched his jaws. “Désolé. It is too late for them, chèrie. They have moved on.”  
An uncanny, knowing look crept in her eyes. “You’re not American, are you?” she concluded, and Cas sighed.  
“Half. My father is French, so he raised me bi-lingual,” he admitted. “I have been born in the US, but we spent seven years in France. Please, just wait at the door while I cut him loose.”  
Finally, she nodded and shuffled to the exit.  
The guy was heavy as he flopped down on Cas’ shoulders, but he’d carried heavier loads.  
He made his way to the door, where the girl Sandy, if his information was correct, was staring at the dead djinn and his victims, the ones Cas was too late to save.  
“Chèrie, come. We need to go.”  
Her eyes slid to the man he was hauling and she blanched even more. “Is.. is he gonna be ok?”  
Slipping his fingers to the bloody neck, Cas felt for a pulse. It was there, if weak.   
“He’ll live,” Cas stated calmly, even if his eyes were darting around, trying to find new threats. “He just got a higher dose than you. I will take you home, and him to hospital, but we do need to go... now!”  
At last, she pushed the door open, and he could escort her towards Honey.

He slid the guy on the broad backseat, carefully positioning him, and nodded encouragingly at Sandy. “Get in. You got shotgun,” Cas urged her, but she hesitated.   
“Why is your car so close?” she wavered, not even reaching out for the doorhandle. “I..if you’re a victim, like us, why is it so close?”  
Cas tucked a blanket around the guy in the back, so he would be more stabilised, and shut the door quietly.  
“Ok. In truth, I came here to get you all out, well, any who were still alive. He cornered me, and I had to fight. It really was him or me.” Not a word of a lie. Cas was proud of himself.  
Sandy narrowed her eyes at him. “But how did you know?”  
“Zut alors!” Cas sighed, rolling his deep-blue eyes up. “The honest truth, Sandy?” The girl did a double take at her name. She never gave it to him. “Your sister. She was very worried you had snuck out to have a rendez-vous and did not return. She alerted the police, but they had nothing to go on.” He pursed his lips in thought. How frank would he get? Just enough, he decided. “The unsolved case pinged my radar, so to speak. So I came to investigate. This is not the first of his kind I have dealt with, so when I found out what I was facing, I decided to take action.” He glared at her. “Next time a guy is being cute and just what you wanted, check him out. Dig deeper, and see the glamour. His kind isn’t picky about who they prey on.”  
Sandy gaped, wide eyed, but nodded. “I...I will. Thank you....”  
Opening his door, Cas slid in behind the wheel. “Castiel,” he offered, once Sandy had taken her place. “My name is Castiel.”

The doctors at the hospital were curious and alarmed when Cas dropped in with an unconscious body in tow, but after Cas had explained the guy had lost a lot of blood from a neck wound, they hopped to it. In the bustle to get him the right blood, Cas snuck away and got back on the road.  
He put his phone on speaker and called Gabriel.  
“Y’ello! You got the one and only Gabe! What can I do you for?” yodelled his cousin through the speaker. “Tout les dieux! Gabriel, you nearly bust my speaker.” Chuckles sounded and Cas just knew Gabe had done it on purpose.  
“Heya cous! Just the speaker? Not your eardrums? You’re learning fast, buckaroo!”  
Cas sighed, but a smile tugged at the lefthand corner of his mouth. “I just wanted you to know I’m on my way. I’ll be there in about an hour.”  
Gabe smacked, making Cas think he was once again snacking on a lollipop. “Wait, what? How’re you so close already?” Gabe wondered.  
“I was just in Watertown, taking care of a djinn problem,” Cas explained, pushing his foot down more, relishing the purr of the engine. “I was literally stabbing it when your message came through. Problem solved, time free to help you two.”  
“Whoa! That’s... wow,” Gabe marvelled. “But Cassie, bud, you need to relax too. Just stacking hunt on hunt isn’t gonna do you any favours, pal.”  
Cas shrugged, even though Gabriel couldn’t see it. “Soit. I’m ok, Gabriel. I can crash at your motel once I’m there. Which one are you in?”  
“Room 105 of The Waterfalls Inn on Main. It has a diner and a bar attatched,” Gabriel cajoled, making Cas chuckle softly. “And not too expensive, I take it?” he assumed with a grin.  
“You know us, cousin,” Gabriel answered cheerfully. “The family has money. We don’t. Anna and I, we’re true Hunters. We scam and scheme. We have fake everythings, including creditcards.”  
Cas nodded, smiling warmly now. “I know, Gabriel. I know. I’ll be there soon.”  
He hung up and concentrated on the drive, humming along with the radio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation French-English:  
> Ah zut - oh darn  
> Cette chose t’es - what a thing you are (a base creature as it were)  
> Chèrie - dear  
> Connard! Je te déteste! -asshole! I despise you!  
> Désolé - I am sorry  
> Zut alors! - Well darn!  
> Tout les dieux! - All the Gods!


	4. Chapter 4

He threw open the door to the motel room Gabriel had told him they were in.  
“Ok. I’m here,” he stated, slinging his duffle in a corner. “What do we have?”  
Gabriel raised one eyebrow and tilted his head. “Seriously? You just barge in, no ‘Hello, nice to see you, after two, no, nearly three years.’ Bit disappointing, cousin.”  
Cas pulled up one of the motel chairs and sank onto it. “I’m not here for pleasantries, Gabriel. And you know it,” he growled, a tension in his words.  
Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “What’s cooking, Grumpy Smurf? You told me you would take a breather here. And that’s exactly what you’re gonna do. Anna is out, and I am leaving. Feel free to use any of the beds.” And with that, he bounced off the bed and dashed through the door. Hearing the soft click of the lock, Cas slumped. Typical of Gabriel, but Cas had to admit two things to himself. 1. Gabe was right. Cas would’ve followed if he hadn’t locked the door, and 2. He was dead tired. His vision was swimming, now the adrenaline was finally receding.  
He flopped head first on the nearest bed and hugged the pillow to his chest. Within two minutes, he was snoring lightly.

**“Ah, Castiel, live a little, eh?” Cas smiled warmly at his roommate. “Zut Balthazar, you sweettalker. I will try it. But if I get caught, I will take you with me,” he threatened with a grin.  
“Only fair, love. Only fair,” the blonde chuckled as he raised his glass. “But they don’t call it ‘Hunters Helper’ for nothing. You’re a Hunter, I’m a Hunter, we could use the help...” he let his voice with the indeterminable accent drop off.  
“We are seventeen, you salaud,” Cas chuckled back and he downed his glass in one shot.  
Balthazar licked his lips, grey-blue eyes hungry. “Oh Cassie. You know what that French does to me.” His tone was teasing, but his face longing, and it did things to Cas. Things Cas had never felt before. He wanted to grab his roommate by the face and see if the scotch could be tasted on his tongue.  
“Really, Balthy?” Cas teased, but his gut did summersaults.  
Breathing a little heavier, Balthazar nodded. “Ever since I asked you what the French word for twelve was, and you so casually answered..”  
“Douze,” Cas automatically supplied. Balthazar gasped, eyes on Cas’ lips. “Yeah...” he breathed. “That.”  
The warm buzz of the alcohol made Cas smile loosely at him and he licked his lips carefully. After a year of getting to know this guy, Cas’ heart was all in for this. So, he wasn’t as uninterested in sex as he’d always thought. Just the thought of kissing Balthazar had him half-hard in his jeans. Balthazar came close and their lips just slotted together, causing a horde of insects to bat their tiny wings in Cas’ stomach. “Balthy...” he breathed against those warm, whiskey tasting lips. Balthazar hummed and licked his way in Cas’ mouth, their tongues twining together.  
**

**Balthazar pulled free. “Cas?” His tone wasn’t teasing anymore, it was panicked, hurt, and Cas’ eyes flew open.  
Blood seeped down the impish face of his friend, his roommate, his first love, and his eyes were glazed in pain. “Cassie...” Balthazar bubbled, as pinkish foam formed in the corner of his mouth. Cas let go of Balthazar’s arms like they’d stung, and stepped back.  
Claw marks were torn over his torso and the edges of the gouges were bubbling slightly.  
“Balthazar!” Cas cried, tears streaming down his face as he tried to stem the bloodflow.  
Deep in his heart, he knew it was useless. The Rakasha they’d been hunting had poisonous claws and was very strong. It had ripped through Balthazar like he was made out of rice-paper. “Cassie, love...” Balthazar whispered, pulling Cas close. “I ... I..loved you...my dear. Live fully... don’t... don’t end up... like me.” He shuddered and stilled, hand dropping from Cas’ shoulder, leaving a dark smear of blood on his sleeve. “Balthazar? Balthazar!” Cas cried, but all he got was silence. “Balthy!”**

“Shshsh... it’s ok, Castiel. You’re safe. It’s just a bad dream...” The voice was soft and caring, and Cas shuddered out a breath. Another nightmare. The soft jingling to his left told him who was being so caring. “Merde, Anna. I’m never safe, and it was not just a dream.”  
Anna hummed softly. “I know. You were calling out for him.” Quizzically, she tilted her head, making her ‘Engelsrufer’ jingle again. “I never knew what happened. Maybe telling me could help you give it some rest, let it go,” she offered sincerely.  
Cas scoffed as he rolled onto his side, prying his eyes open, annoyed to find his long, dark lashes wet against his cheeks. “If you really want to know: it was a Rakasha, and because Balthazar was concerned about me and broke cover too soon, he got the full force of it’s rage. He died in my arms. I could barely kill the thing before was going to start its meal.” If he closed his eyes, he could still hear the dull ‘thud’ with which the Hindu war-axe had separated the head from the Rakasha’s body.  
“I am sorry, Castiel,” Anna offered. “I knew you were close. You two made a good team.” She bent over and kissed his cheek. Cas scowled. Him being so vulnerable made Anna think things that she shouldn’t. Anna’s soft lips moved sideways, towards his mouth. He roughly turned away. “No, Anna. Not interested. I...” he faltered, unable to look at her. “Me and Balthazar, we were more than a team...” he admitted softly.  
Anna stiffened. “Oh! Oh... oh wow... I.. I never realised. You... you’re... gay?”  
Cas sat up, rubbing his cheeks dry on his shirt sleeve. “No. I’m actually demi-sexual. I need to form a deeper bond with people, before I can experience any sexual urges towards them.”  
Anna ducked her head. “So that is why you don’t want to get close,” she whispered. “You’re afraid they’ll end up like Balthazar, and you will have to nurse another broken heart.”  
Not looking at her, Cas hummed noncommittally. There was another reason, but that had nothing to do with Balthazar, and he wasn’t about to tell her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation French - English  
> Zut - darn  
> Salaud - bastard


	5. Chapter 5

The Canton County Courthouse was a repurposed church, and Cas felt oddly at ease. He knew the whole ‘hallowed grounds’ thing was a myth, but he still had trouble envisioning a demon waltzing up the front door. He was looking at some old maps of the area, especially around the old Route 11. It seemed the water-sprite was concentrating her actions around there.  
The soft jingling of her necklace gave away Anna as she softly made her way towards him.  
“Rien, Anna. I have nothing yet,” he groused. Anna pulled her fingers through his hair and he jerked his head to the side. His blue eyes narrowed, he glared at her. “Dégage, Anna!” he hissed. “I told you...” Anna shrugged. “I think of you as a little brother, cousin dear. Nothing else. Not anymore. Anyway, Gabriel did a little digging, and he found that most victims were women. More specifically, women who were sleeping with the same guy. The same, married guy.”  
That had Cas smirk. “Really... so, perchance not a sprite,” he guessed. “but a pissed of wife with a penchant for witchcraft?”  
Anna tilted her head. “Best explore all avenues. Could be either.”  
A thought sparked in Cas’ brain. “Or both...” he offered. “Maybe the sprite was attached to the wife, and his cheating ass was pissing her off. But killing him would sadden the wife too, so the sprite killed the sidesteps.”  
Grinning, Anna tapped her head. “See? That’s why we need you. You think differently. I’ll inform Gabe, you keep looking at the maps for sprite-territory.” She patted his shoulder and left.

His research paid off. At the end of Old Route 11, there used to be a natural spring, but on the more recent maps there was a building on that exact spot. A house. He googled the address, then searched the white pages for a name. “Hiya Cassie!” Gabriel called out as he entered the motel room. “Anna tells me you’re being the Captain Smartypants we all know and love. So, enlighten me.” He flopped on a bed and rolled on his stomach.  
Cas shook his head at him.  
“Let’s say that Mr. Pike needs to either cleanse his house, or his habits,” he answered wryly.  
That got him an impressed nod and pout. “So our little wencher is indeed causing all of this?” Gabe wondered. “That low-down scumbag. I wonder if the Mrs. knows about this. Mike should really watch his back.”  
Biting back a laugh, Cas eyed his cousin. “Vraiment? Mike? Mike Pike?” he snorted inelegantly.  
Gabriel simply shrugged. “What can I say? Some parents are really irresponsible namegivers. Can you go talk to the lady, Cassie? I somehow always end up in bed with them, and not knowing what I came for.”  
With a scoff, Cas stood. “Fine. I will go,” he amended. “Tell Anna I’ll be back shortly. Abruti.”  
Gabriel winked at him. “No amount of sexy, French flattering will sway me. You’re my cous. Like my baby bro. Not going to fall for your French smooth-talking.”  
Cas chuckled. “It means ‘jerk’, Gabe. Nothing sexy about that.”  
This time he got an eyebrow-waggle. “It is if you do the jerking. Or you let me jerk you.”  
“Putain, Gabriel! Get your mind out of the gutter!” Castiel snapped, more than done with his cousin. Cackling, Gabriel rolled back onto his back. “You’re so much fun to deal with, Cassie,” he gasped, shooing him out the door.  
Grumbling, Castiel left to go interview the poor wife of the guy with the loose pants.

“Bonjour, Madamme,” Castiel kindly said to the lady with the long, cinnamon coloured braid. In his eyes she looked almost native, except that she was too white. “My name is agent Azure. I am here to investigate the... deaths of a few ladies.” He always made sure to exaggerate his almost non-existent accent. It tended to lull people into a false sense of security. As if a person with a French accent would not know exactly how the law in the US worked.  
This lady however, was more shrewd. “Agent Azure... basically agent Blue. Odd name,” she observed, her light brown eyes taking him in head to toe.  
It cracked his mask, and he smiled. “Oui. My ancestors were not very imaginative. That’s how it goes, hein?”  
She pouted, pushed her glasses up her nose, and waved him in. “Don’t I know it,” she grumbled. “My name is Danielle Pike, wife to, can you believe it, Mike Pike. It never fails to get a snigger.” She turned her bright, smart eyes on him again. “But I guess you already knew his name, being a Fed and all...”  
Cas ducked his head, uncharacteristically cowed by this smart lady. “Yes. I did. I am... désolé, sorry, to bother you, Madamme, but our information shows your mari, your husband?” She nodded. Encouraged, Cas moved on. “He knew each and every one of the victims.”

Whatever Cas has expected, it wasn’t a deep, resigned sigh. “I know,” Danielle admitted. “And intimately too.” Another sigh and a wry quirk of her mouth. “I can give you each and every alibi Mike and I have for each death.” She slyly glanced at him. “But I think it won’t do me much good. Either you suspect me, or Mike. Neither way is good.”  
Cas felt sorry for her. She didn’t ask for such a crappy husband, and now she was all but ready to head to jail for a crime she didn’t commit.  
“Calmez-vous, Madamme. I did not say anything of the kind. I am sorry your husband is such an... an assbutt, but we are merely asking questions, not accusing you or him.”  
Danielle giggled at the made-up insult, and a dimple popped up in her cheek.  
“Well, agent... I have a question for you too.” Cas blinked at her, totally blank on whatever she would want to know, but noting the slight sarcasm at the moniker.  
Danielle tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Do you believe in... fairies?” She almost whispered it, but Cas heard her.  
“What? Why?” he cautiously asked, suspicion rising.  
“Because I think it might be a spirit, or, or... elemental or something.” She threw her hands up, clearly halfway towards declaring herself nuts and signing up for the nearest nut-bin.  
Quickly weighing his options, Cas made a decision. “A sprite, perchance?”  
Danielle whipped around, her eyes wide. “You believe me?” she asked, incredulously.  
Cas shrugged. “Why not. You didn’t believe me when I said I was an FBI agent, but you still asked me this. Good thing I know those things exist.” He dropped his French accent, and Danielle smirked, then sighed in relief. “Okay then. Good to know I’m not going cuckoo. A sprite you say?”

Standing in the humid, clammy cellar, Cas wrinkled his nose at the smell of stale water. “Oh mon Dieu,” he groaned. “Didn’t they have the sense to build away from the spring?”  
Danielle shrugged. “My father in-law wanted the house here, not twenty yards any where else. Which, I think, was stupid. There have been leakages since the day they moved in. And the house is damp, no matter how hot and dry the weather is.”  
Cas knelt on the moist, crumbling floor. “Not surprising. Even a building inspector would not allow this.”  
Suddenly the humidity got even more oppressive and from the corner of his eye, Cas saw movement where there shouldn’t be.  
“I think, if you give the original spring a new outlet, the moisture trouble should be done with.” He stood, brushing his hands on his thighs. “But the sprite... I don’t know. It might still be angered.”  
The movement intensified, solidified, and a vaguely feminine shape occurred in wisps of fog.  
“I am...” a voice like a spring shower said softly.  
Danielle gasped, her eyes wide, her hands to her mouth. “Bu..but why? What have I done to anger you, dear spirit?” she asked, sounding close to tears. The fog turned it’s head towards her. “You? Nothing. I feel... regret. A certain... kindred spirit towards you. You and I, we are both trapped here. And HE gets to go out and fornicate with anything that is female. Out of all his four wives, I like you the best. You, at least, seemed to sense me.”  
Cas sighed. “I understand you, dear sprite, but killing? That is going too far.”  
The sprite lowered her head. “I thought the police would arrest him, and then she would be free of him. I didn’t really mean harm. Being shut off from light and fresh air has made me lose perspective, I think.”  
Looking at Danielle, Cas grabbed a large mallet. Danielle nodded once, and Cas hefted the big hammer. “That will be remedied, sprite. And please, let Danielle find her own way out. My cousin, Gabriel, has a few years of pre-law under his belt. I shall send him over to see if he can get her out of here.”  
Both Danielle and the sprite made a soft, grateful sound, and Cas swung the mallet at the most moist bit of wall. It crumbled like a piecrust and the warm, autumn sunshine screamed in, all golden and inviting.  
The sprite gave a delighted squeal and disappeared.  
Danielle smiled warmly at Cas, who nodded grimly and pulled out his phone.  
“Gabriel? I need you.”

“Oh Cassie!” Gabriel crowed, delighted. “I never thought I would hear you say such a thing! Be still my heart!”  
A smile quirked at Castiel’s mouth. “Ta gueule, cousin. I need your legal advice. C’est tout.”  
Gabriel basically purred in his ear.  
“Mmmm, Cassie, you sound so sexy when you’re snippy in French.”  
Rolling his eyes at that, Cas sighed, making Danielle suppress a giggle. “Just get your backside to this house, and help the poor woman out.”  
“Oh, you. When will you finally get that stick out of your ass?” Gabriel repined. “I’m hungry. There’s a Chinese restaurant on Main street. Can we all meet up there, please?”  
Thinking he could use a bite to eat as well, he relayed that plan to Danielle, who accepted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation translation French - English:  
> Rien - nothing  
> Dégage - piss off  
> Vraiment - really  
> Putain - fuck  
> Oui - yes  
> hein - eh  
> Calmez-vous - calm yourself  
> Oh mon Dieu - oh my God  
> C’est tout - That’s all


	6. Chapter 6

Cas sighed. He had eaten a lot, and his stomach was straining on the egg rolls and chicken kung-pao.  
Danielle and Gabriel were in deep conversation, hashing out the way for her to finally leave her cheating husband.  
“Gabe,” Cas tried, but his cousin wasn’t paying him any attention. With a scoff, Cas paid the bill, whispering to the waitress that Gabe and Danielle would leave later, and grabbed his coat.  
“Au revoir, bonne chance with the divorce,” he said softly as he stood. Neither of his table mates looked up.  
With a smirk, Cas left the restaurant, bowing his head against the autumn chill. It was autumn again, and his birthday was coming up. Six months from that, the calendar in his head would end. Permanently. What would he leave? Not much. Just Honey, his weaponry and his clothes. And Gabe and Anna, but they would learn to live without him.  
Walking with his head down, Cas pondered all of this as he made his way to where he’d parked Honey.

Suddenly, he smashed into someone.  
As he went down backwards, Cas caught a glimpse of tan and deep blue.  
“Oof! You idiot!” the other guy snarled. “Watch where you’re....” His voice bled out, and Cas looked up.  
“What the Hell?” he gasped, scrambling to his feet. He stared, mouth dropped open, eyes wide at the man, who did the exact same thing.  
“How... what? I mean...” the guy stammered in a voice much clearer and an octave higher than Cas’. Cas knows how he feels. It’s like he is looking in a mirror, except that his mirror was one of the magic kind, where your clothes are all weird. They are matched in height to the quarter inch, the blue eyes searching his face, are his, the shock of dark hair is shorter, but equally messy. The slant of his mouth, the crows-feet at his eyes, all exactly the same. “Who the Hell are you?” Cas ground out. The mirror image frowned, then scowled, and Cas was gulping at the familiarity. Surreptitiously, he palmed a silver coin from his pants-pocket. You never know if it’s a shifter, or whatever. The mirror Cas tugged at his deep blue tie, dusted off his tan trenchcoat, and huffed. “Well,” he started. “I could ask you the same. How can you look so much like me?” It sounded accusatory, and Cas bristled. “I cannot say,” he snarled. “But I can tell you, this is my own face. Castiel Shurley,” he offered, reaching out his right hand, coin concealed in the palm.  
The other guy eyed him suspiciously, but eventually grabbed his hand. “Jimmy. Jimmy Novak.”

The world shook to a grinding halt. “N...Novak?” Cas stammered, hidden silver test forgotten.  
Behind him, he vaguely registered the pounding of running feet nearing, laboured breaths puffing and a voice yelling.  
“Cassie! Caaaasss! Wait u-ooooh shit!” Gabriel skidded to a halt right next to the both of them.  
“Cousin Gabriel?” Jimmy asked, tone between bewildered and delighted.  
“Jimbo! Heeeeeyyyy! Good to see you, cous!” Gabriel called so over-enthousiastically, it was nearly a yodel.  
“Gabe?” Cas wavered past his dry throat. “Did he just call you.... cousin?”  
Scratching his next embarrassedly, Gabriel chuckled. “Yeah,” he drawled, drawing the word out over several syllables.  
“And you called him ‘cous’ back?” Cas demanded to know, anger beginning to crop up.  
Gabriel didn’t look either man in the eyes. “Raspberries...” he muttered to the sidewalk.

They decided to go back to the motel for privacy.  
Gabriel looked up, legs swinging from the edge of the bed.  
“Look, fellas...” he started, golden eyes pleading and unhappy. “It was never my secret. I never decided to do this.”  
“Do what?” both Cas and Jimmy demanded to know. They shot each-other a strange look before turning to Gabriel once more.  
Rubbing his neck, Gabe glanced at where Anna stood, leaning against the wall. “To separate you two,” she said, taking pity on her brother.  
“You are twins, you muttonheads,” Gabe explained with a flourish.  
Jimmy scoffed as Cas raised his eyebrows.  
“Excuser?” he punched out, causing Jimmy to snap his head around to him.  
“You’re Canadian?” Jimmy asked incredulously, making Cas deadpan even more and Gabe burst out in giggles. “Oh this is precious!” he gasped. “Canadian.... Cassie... Cassie, please... don... don’t be upset.” Hiccupping with laughter, Gabriel gleefully unwrapped a chocolate bar.  
Castiel glared at him, before turning to his twin. “Non, I am not Canadian. I am an American, but my... _our_ father chose to move us to France when I was just an infant. We only returned here when I was seven.”  
“Yup!” Gabriel happily interrupted. “And I’m glad of it! Now at least one of you is a great Hunter.”

Jimmy’s eyes widened even more, and he flat out gaped now.  
“You’re a _Hunter_?” he exclaimed, his wide eyes roaming all over Cas.  
“You’re _not_?” Cas shot back, his temper rising steadily.  
Jimmy dropped his gaze to his hands, which he held loosely in his lap. “No. I know of them, and I know our legacy, so to speak, but mother... Mother refuses to have anything to do with that.”  
From his peripheral view, Cas noticed Gabriel dashing to his feet, and Anna pushing off the wall, but his blood thundered in his ears, his mind boiling with rage.  
“Oh, rotten candy-apples...” Gabriel muttered while grabbing hold of Castiel. Cas wrenched his arm loose.  
“Désiste!” he hissed at his cousin, before directing his glare at his twin. “She what?” he asked, tone flat and icy.  
“Yes,” Jimmy replied snidely. “I bet that’s why she broke up with father. She hated that he was one of you.”  
The world turned red at those words. His vision vague and his arms trembling, Cas stood, Jimmy copying him.  
Vaguely, Cas noticed his nails were digging into his palms, and there were arms around him, tugging. He shook his head and his vision cleared a little. He was nose to nose with his twin. Anna was trying to pull Jimmy away from him, while Gabriel was doing his damnedest to pull Cas back. Cas growled. He’d never been this angry in his life.  
“Salaud, branleur... va te faire enculer!” he ground out, his already deep and gravelly voice dropping even lower in tone.  
“Our father knew nothing, _nothing_ of the Hunter life,” he sibilated. “Until mother left us that is. Then he got drawn in, because he thought she’d been possessed. He never, ever gave up on trying to find her and excorsise the demon.”

Jimmy blinked, temporarily taken aback, but his scowl returned pretty fast.  
“Oh yeah? Then why hasn’t he been here yet? We’ve lived here for years now, and we still use our own name. A great hunter like our father could have found us easily.” The sarcasm dripped from every word and Cas was straining to free his arms from Gabriel, who had him in a bear hug from behind, just to punch that smug bastard in the face.  
“Cassie, Cassie, please,” Gabriel plead, hanging on for dear life. “Don’t. It’s not worth it.”  
He ignored Gabriel to step even closer to Jimmy, dragging his cousin along.  
“I haven’t seen father in over a decade,” he explained. “He could be dead for all I know. Even within the life, he is considered a recluse. He’ll pop up, dead or alive. But don’t you _dare_ assume to know his mind.”  
Jimmy blanched. “Over a decade? But... you were just a kid then,” he stammered, appalled.  
“Fifteen,” Cas stated coldly. “And not so much of a kid. I had three werewolves, a vampire nest and a ghoul under my belt by then.”  
Jimmy sat down, hard, all fight gone. “Good lord... fifteen... I was hunting skirt then, and you were chopping of werewolf heads...”  
His beaten down posture calmed Castiel too. “That would be vampires. Officially, werewolf is silver to the heart, but beheading is often a good idea, regardless of the type of monster.”

Jimmy looked up at him, his mouth pulling up in the same uneven smile Cas himself had. “I guess I got lucky after all,” he commented wryly. “I can’t imagine going through all that. I’m happy with my life, even if mother can be cold. At least she’s still here.”  
Something hot flashed through Castiel. “Here? As in Canton?” he demanded to know. Jimmy nodded. “Yes. In the same apartment she bought eight years ago.” Cas growled deep in his throat. “M’excuser, I have to make a call,” he brusquely said and easily broke Gabriel’s hold on him by pinching the skin on top of his hand. “OW! Cassie!” Gabe protested, but Cas just grabbed his bag and made for the door.  
“Castiel! Please! Don’t tell father...” Jimmy suddenly called out. Cas stopped dead and stiffened. Without turning to look, he said gruffly: “didn’t I just say I hadn’t spoken to him in ages? His number has to be changed by now, so I couldn’t if I wanted to, but I wasn’t planning on it anyway. Goodbye, Jimmy.”  
He grabbed the doorknob and pulled. “Gabe, Anna, I will contact you.” He shouldered his bag and left, a dead silence in his wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation French - English:  
> Au revoir - Good bye  
> bonne chance - good luck  
> Excuser? - Sorry?  
> Désiste - stop that  
> Salaud - bastard  
> Branleur - wanker  
> va te faire enculer! - go fuck yourself!  
> M’excuser - excuse me


	7. Chapter 7

It was dark and dusty in the warehouse, but no-one would interrupt him here.  
Cas quickly set up his things and blew out a harsh breath. He’d hoped to not have to do this, ever, but he had the means and he needed answers.  
“...Et ad congregandum... eos coram me,” he chanted as he threw a match in the bowl of herbs.  
They lit up with a ‘woosh’ and the flames licked high.  
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t my favourite future Hell denizen. Hello, Castiel,” a smarmy voice drawled.  
A muscle ticked in Cas’ jaw. “Hello, Crowley,” he answered stiffly.  
Crowley looked around and sighed. “A Devilstrap? Really, Kitten? Why? Don’t you trust me?”  
Glaring at the glib guy, Cas shook his head. “Not even as far as I can spit.”  
Dramatically rolling his eyes, Crowley pressed a hand to his chest.  
“You wound me. But I don’t have time for idle chit-chat. Why did you call me? It’s not like we won’t see each-other soon. What was it? Six months from your birthday?”

Castiel said nothing, just glared harder.  
“Tsk,” Crowley huffed. “Calls me to give me that smitey look... why Castiel, are you flirting? Gets me all tingly in me nethers, it does.”  
A cold shiver ran up Cas’ spine. “Ferme ta gueule, Crowley. I could have run into my mother today...”  
Crowley studied his cuticles. “Most certainly not, dear Chaton. Our contract specifically states you shall not see you mother until your dying day. So there certainly wasn’t a chance in Hell she’d bump into you. See.” He smugly tilted his head and walked right up to the edge of the Devilstrap. “I got intel that you were close by. So, I sent some of my minions to... distract mommy dearest.”  
Thinking about Jimmy, Cas blanched. “What the Hell did you do?”  
Smugly tilting his head, Crowley blinked innocently.  
“Why Castiel... I thought you wouldn’t care about little old Naomi,” he drawled.  
Cas scowled bitterly. “I don’t. But...” His voice bled out at Crowley’s shrewd look.  
“Oh.. oooohhh,” the glib demon grinned. “You met _him_!” His tone was positively gleeful. “Oh my word... this is precious! And despite not knowing anything about him, you care enough for him that you’d be angry if Naomi got hurt.”

Angry for giving Crowley leverage over him, Cas growled low.  
“What did you do to her, Crowley?” he demanded.  
The demon was all but actually rubbing his hands together.  
“Nothing, dear boy,” he drawled unconvincingly. “Even in Hell there is something called integrity. Make a deal, keep it. Like I said, there was a distraction. I had them make noise a county over. Not in town, but just close enough to have her Hunter side flare up. She read the omens and to keep James safe, she went to investigate. She’s a mom. It’s kind of in the job description. Naomi doesn’t hunt, unless it is close enough to be a threat to her or James. Always was this way.”

It hurt. Gods on high, it fucking _hurt_! To hear how protective Naomi was towards his brother, and yet she’d left him with Chuck, not looking back.  
“So, now you know I’m not weaselling out of our deal... Could you let me go?” Crowley asked sweetly. “I’m in no real hurry but I can feel a few souls coming due, and a few deals about to be made.”  
With a sigh, Cas scratched a bit of paint from the sigil. “Allez.. be gone.”  
Crowley smirked at him. “Ta, darling! See you in a bit!” he called, and vanished.  
Cas sighed. That had been an exercise in futility.  
Well, at least he knew some things he hadn’t known before. Like that Naomi occasionally still hunted, if only to keep Jimmy and herself safe.  
His phone rang, and he couldn’t make himself pick it up.  
The whole ordeal had shaken him more than he would like to admit.

He made his way down to Honey and sank down in the loving embrace of her leather seat.  
“Eh, Honey,” he grumbled low. “How about a long drive, far, far away from here?” He keyed the ignition and relished the growl Honey gave. “Aaahhh,” he sighed. “Just you and me, ma Petite. No-one else to worry about.”  
He punched the gas and Honey jumped to life, eating up the gravel happily.  
Twenty minutes later, Canton NY far in his rearview mirror, Cas finally relaxed fully.  
Until his phone rang again. With a sigh he put it on speaker.  
“Cassie? What the Hell man?” rang his cousin’s anxious voice from the speaker.  
“Hello, Gabriel,” Cas answered, glad to not have to look into those golden eyes and see the disappointment.  
“Don’t you ‘Hello Gabriel’ me, buster! Why the Hell did you go? _Where_ the Hell did you go? And how could you leave Jimmy dangling like that? Hell, the guy just found out he has a twin, and then said twin just ups and leaves?”  
Just the name of his brother had Castiel grip Honey’s steeringwheel tightly.  
“In case you have forgotten, I am in the same boat. Except that I was the one walking off. But not only did I find out I have a twin, I also hear that my mother is in that same town. Pardon me for not sticking around!” he barked. “I have no wish to see her. Ever.” He drew a shuddering breath, trying to calm himself. “Look, Gabriel, I handled the sprite. You can thank me by getting Danielle out of that awful mistake she calls a marriage. How about that, hein? Just don’t mention my brother, or my mother again.”  
Gabriel didn’t answer, and the silence got heavy. “I am going to hang up, Gabe. I’m driving. Take care of Anna and yourself. Bye.” He swiftly ended the call before Gabe got his senses back.  
“Merde, Honey. I think I’ll find a liquor store, and drink it,” he mused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation French - English:  
> Chaton- kitten (term of endearment/nickname)  
> Ferme ta gueule - shut the f*ck up  
> Allez - go on  
> hein - eh  
> Merde - shit


	8. Chapter 8

The birds were singing, and the sun was shining, but Cas sat on the bed in a remote Hunting cabin Bobby Singer had given him the keys to, curtains drawn, sigils and protection up.  
He remembered when he’d dropped in on Bobby, a week ago.  
Cas loved the man with all his heart, being the father he’d thought he’d never have. From the day they’d hit US soil, Chuck had dumped Cas on Bobby’s doorstep often enough. It was where he’d met Gabriel, whose parents did the exact same, leaving Anna at their aunt, Hester. Bobby had become their surrogate father, and the cousins close as brothers as it was possible to get, seeing each other every couple of months.  
“I like ya, Castiel, but you look like Death warmed over. Stay here a while and git yer feet back under ya,” the old man had grumbled.  
Cas had swallowed down his eager reply to accept, because his eyes had caught the calendar that was lopsidedly tacked to the wall, and he knew there was no way he’d subject Bobby to this.  
“Merci, Bobby, but you’re the hub of the Hunters network here. I wouldn’t get rest, and you know it.”

Bobby had offered the cabin, noting that nobody came there for months or even years, and it was exactly the out Cas had needed.  
So, now it was the 17th of March, and Cas theoretically knew what to expect. It was exactly why he was in seclusion, his phone dead, his car at Bobby’s with an envelope in the glove compartment, leaving her to Bobby, his arsenal in the trunk to be divided between Bobby and his cousins, and a stack of pictures of him and Chuck to be sent to Jimmy and Naomi. He didn’t want anyone to know what happened, and if Bobby came looking after two months, his carcass should have been picked clean enough to show no evidence of how he died.  
He sighed, sigils and stuff were all good, but today would end bloody anyway, so he might as well take one last walk through the woods.  
He pulled on his plaid lined canvas jacket and opened the door.

Only to stop dead in his tracks, surprised someone was standing there, on his doorstep, in this godforsaken stretch of Wisconsin wilderness.  
He froze, door halfway open, as if he was about to slam it shut again.  
“Who are you?” he said, his voice flat.  
The woman bit her lip, her eyes swimming with tears. “Castiel... my angel,” she choked out. “Good God, Jimmy didn’t lie. You look just like him!”  
Cas felt cold all over. Naomi. How dare she pop up, today of all days? Had she been delayed one day, just one, he’d never had to see her, never had to hear her voice break over his name.  
“Why... no. _How_ the Hell did you find me?” Cas asked, turning away from the door, feeling it best to get this over with, so Naomi would fucking leave already.  
Naomi entered, smirking, her grey eyes mischievous. “I _am_ a Hunter, Castiel. As soon as Jimmy told me about meeting you, I knew I had to find you.”  
That damned meeting... which had him wondering something, but he’d get the answer later, from someone else.

“Still doesn’t tell me how you found me, mother,” he intoned with a nasty, uncaring emphasis on the moniker. “Did you pester Bobby?” If she had, Castiel would give her a bigger piece of his mind than he’d already planned.  
Naomi sighed. “No. I didn’t have to. He called me, a day or two ago, saying you were being weird.” She chuckled. “Well, in his words: ‘that idjet is being weirder than his normal weird, girl. You git yer ass there and talk it out with the boy.’ So, I dropped everything, and drove over to him, get rest, get directions and...”  
She raised her arms in a ‘tadaah’ gesture, and Cas looked her over for the first time.  
Her ginger hair was tied in what probably had been a pristine bun, but after a two day drive, locks were escaping. She was wearing jeans, and a T-shirt with a yellow and red plaid over-shirt. She looked like a Hunter, but the clothes were hanging wrong off of her, like she was playing dress up.

“Mother, why did you bother with me? You never cared about me. You had Jimmy, father had me. We never heard from you. Hell, until six months ago, I didn’t even _know_ I have a twin!”  
Naomi dropped her gaze and swallowed hard. “Is... is that how you think it is? Really?” she wavered, her voice soft, her eyes not leaving the floor.  
“Isn’t it?” Cas demanded harshly. “You _left_ , Naomi. You just upped and left us, your husband and your six month old son. And apparently taking your other six month old son with you. Why, Naomi? Why would you do that? Was Jimmy such an easy baby you could just sneak off with him?”  
He’d promised himself he’d keep his cool, but most of these questions had been burning him up ever since he was old enough to understand that his mother had chosen to leave like a thief in the night. And the others since he’d met his twin, six months ago.

Naomi let her eyes wander the sparsely furnished cabin and sat down on the very edge of a chair.  
“Castiel, please, let me explain.”  
Cas sighed. It wasn’t like he had plans, and maybe, just maybe, he could let this go after her story, and have some peace of mind. He flopped down on the other chair, his blue eyes hard and shuttered.  
“Fine,” he snapped. “But don’t expect me to feel sorry. I have heard my share of sob-stories, as you can imagine.”  
Naomi sighed deeply and gulped.  
“You must know, my angel, it was all my fault.”  
Cas scoffed at the nickname, but then blinked at the blatant admittance of guilt.  
“Excuser? Just like that? It’s your fault, so I must accept your apologies?”  
Naomi shook her head slowly, tears welling up in her eyes. “No. I am not seeking forgiveness, Castiel. I merely want to explain myself.” She looked up, her mouth pulled down bitterly. “You know we come from a Hunter family. For some reason, a demon targeted my parents. A demon with yellow eyes.”

Cas frowned at that. That was a new one...  
“He snooped around our family, killed some folks we knew, then killed my mother as he possessed my father. I was rebellious at that time, wanting out of the Life. I was dating Charles, and he’d proposed to me. I was happy, about to leave the Hunter life forever. Have my picket-fence and my family. Then the demon, wearing my father, popped up, snapped Charles’ neck and gave me a proposal. He’d mortally wounded your grandfather, before coming to me, so if he was to leave his body, I’d be all alone. He’d resurrect your father, in exchange for a minor thing. Not my soul,” she explained, holding off Cas’ objections with a raised hand. “No-one was going to die, as long as after ten years, he got what he wanted.”  
Sceptical, Cas raised one eyebrow. “Which was?” he asked.  
Naomi ducked her head again, a tear escaping her eye. “I caught him, on the day you and Jimmy were six months old. He stood over your brother and dripped his own blood in Jimmy’s mouth. I kept quiet, but I knew this was bad. I knew your father knew nothing of the Supernatural, and all I could think of was to take Jimmy and leave, to keep at least you and Charles safe from the demon and his crazy agenda.”

Cas scoffed loudly. “Well, that backfired spectacularly then,” he scorned. “Father became convinced you were possessed, because of the sudden disappearance. We lived in France for seven years, with him religiously scouring the church records, the theological books and what not, to find an explanation for your behaviour. He became a Hunter, specialised in demons, and Old World monsters, teaching me right along with himself. When he had read all he could on the subject, he moved us back here, hoping to find you. To excorsise the demon from you.”  
Face white as snow and trembling hands covering her mouth, Naomi stared at him.  
“No... no! I didn’t want to believe Jimmy when he said you were a Hunter, but...”  
“But I am,” Cas finished for her.  
She wiped at her wet cheeks. “But how come Charles never found Jimmy and me? I moved us around a lot during his childhood, but once he turned eighteen, I figured it would be safe to put down roots. We have lived in Canton ever since.”

Cas shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since I was fifteen. He’d dropped me off at the Milton compound for training, and I haven’t heard from him since. All I know is how adamant he was to find you. Maybe he got killed during a Hunt. Or he is still looking all over for you and Jimmy. I really don’t know how Chuck’s mind works anymore.”  
Naomi glanced up. “You call him... Chuck?” she wondered.  
Cas shrugged with one shoulder. “It’s what he calls himself. Chuck Shurley.”  
Naomi’s gaze went blank. “No wonder I never heard from him. I have heard plenty about Chuck Shurley though. He’s supposed to be one badass Hunter, only surpassed by his.... son.” She looked up at Cas, a mixture of regret, pain and pride on her face.  
“That would be me, Cas Shurley. Pleased to meet you,” Cas intoned sarcastically.

Naomi sank her head into her hands, sobbing. “He was right. Oh my God, Jimmy was right... It didn’t help at all. Not one bit!”  
Cas tilted his head at her. “Jimmy was right? What do you mean?”  
All Naomi did was shake her head, hands stil covering her eyes.  
“Mother, I think I deserve to know, don’t you?” Cas coldly pried. “What does Jimmy have to do with the fact that I’m a Hunter?”  
With a big inhale, Naomi lowered her hands. “Jimmy... Jimmy is psychic. He sometimes has premonitions, and he said that right after he had met you, he had one where he saw you, arguing with a demon.”  
Cas nearly snorted out in laughter. Oh, if only they knew. “Vraiment?” he huffed instead. “Nothing new under the sun then. Those connards will always argue, always try and make deals, or taunt you.”

Naomi looked him straight in the eyes. “He said you _let_ the bastard _go_. What was that then?”  
Well, that cleared up what his brother had seen. It must have been his meeting with Crowley.  
Cas merely blinked. “Absurde! The best demon is a dead one.” He stood, clearly ending this conversation. “Well, maman,” he said, sarcasm ladled thick on the moniker. “As you have seen, I am in perfect health, both physical and mental. Do tell Bobby not to worry so much. The old nounours could get a high bloodpressure.” He guided his mother from the cabin, pushing her gently in the back. Naomi was objecting softly, but she went. “Castiel!” she called, just before he wanted to close the door. He stayed his hand, quirking one eyebrow at her. “Quoi?” he wanted to know.  
“Castiel, I’m sorry. I thought I did the right thing...” Naomi started, but Cas had heard enough. “I know. Your intentions were good, but your actions those of a fool. Guess I now know where I get it from. Au revoir, maman.”  
He closed the door, and sank right down on the floor, back pressing the wooden slab closed.  
He had a bone to pick with a certain demon...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation French - English
> 
> Merci - Thank you  
> Excuser? - Excuse me?  
> Vraiment? - Really?  
> connards - assholes  
> maman - mommy, mom  
> Absurde - absurd, ridiculous  
> nounours - teddybear  
> Quoi? - What?  
> Au revoir, maman- goodbye mom


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry, my lovelies!  
> Don’t hate me! It’s just a short while, promise!  
> *huddles in a corner*

“Really, Kitten? We’re scheduled to meet in about thirteen hours. What’s the bloody rush?” Crowley demanded, as soon as he poofed in.  
Cas glared at him. “How the Hell did my mother find me? She was _never_ supposed to see me. Wasn’t that our deal, you salaud?”  
Crowley smirked at him. “Our deal, dearest fellow, was you wouldn’t meet your mother until the day you died. Am I right?”  
Begrudgingly, Cas nodded. “So?”  
Smiling brightly, Crowley spread his hands like he’d performed a neat trick. “Well, isn’t that today? So today was literally the only day she could ever show up on your doorstep!”  
Cas growled. “You.... âne! Why the Hell didn’t you stop her?”  
Crowley’s face became uncharacteristically sober. “I could have, but then you wouldn’t know the truth behind your mom taking off, now would you? Isn’t it much nicer to know such things before you kick the bucket?”

With a frustrated yell, Cas hurled the bowl of smouldering herbs across the cabin.  
“No! I was perfectly content hating her guts! And now...”  
With a slight shrug, Crowley interrupted. “Now you know she did it for your own good. Isn’t that better?”  
Cas plopped on the bed. “No. It fucking isn’t! Why did you do this to me?” he demanded to know.  
Patting him on the back, Crowley gently told him.  
“Castiel, my Chaton, you’re such a nice toy to play with. I have actually grown quite fond of you. I thought it would be nice to leave this mortal coil behind on good terms with your mother. Goodness knows I never reconciled with mine. The witch.”  
Exasperated, Cas threw up his hands. “I can’t with you! Go on, leave! I’m going to take a walk, like I wanted to do before mother showed up!”  
Crowley shrugged. “Go ahead. I will be here, waiting patiently. You’re my only pick-up today.”  
Cas ignored him and made his way outside. He had a lot to think about.

The hallucinations were the main reason Cas finally turned to go back to the cabin. He figured that when the very trees and rocks start having faces, it is time to face the music.  
He couldn’t handle to see the faces of every civilian he couldn’t save, of Jimmy, of his mother, and even his father, all accusing him of not caring, of being emotionless.  
The sun had set long ago, and the mountain air was getting chilly. A golden coyote streaked past him, then turned its slim snout around to watch him. The canine face morphed into Gabriel’s. “You’re selfish, Cassie,” it snapped at him. “You’re gonna leave Anna and me alone.”  
Cas pressed his hands to his ears. “Non! You’ll be better off without me. I swear! I’m poison! I only hurt people.”  
The Gabriel coyote huffed. “You’re hurting us by dying. Go on. You deserve to go to Hell!”  
With a desperate cry, Cas pushed himself past the animal, and hurled through the cabin door, where Crowley sat on the cot, patiently waiting.  
“Hello Kitten,” he drawled, and Cas turned to face him.  
Which he regretted instantly. “Gah!” he gasped, flinging his hands up to not see.  
Crowley just chuckled. “Ah. You can truly see me now, can’t you?” he concluded, voice thick with smug satisfaction.  
“Sacre bleu! You are ugly!” Cas gasped, still trying to not look at the demon much.  
Heaving a sad little sigh, Crowley shrugged. “Yes, sadly being a demon does not win any beauty pageants. Lucky for us that most people can’t seem to see through the masks, huh?”  
Cas sighed. “Can you not?” he asked, exasperated. “Just go. I will not fight you. Once midnight strikes, I will follow meekly.”

Rubbing his hand over his mouth, Crowley hummed. “Sorry, Chaton, but I have to let my pet get you. No other way you’re gonna get taken down.” He seemed to be genuinely regretting this.  
“Pet? What pet?” Cas wondered.  
Crowley bit his lip, dark eyes cast down. He heaved a big sigh, then whistled sharply.  
The air next to him shimmered like hot air above a blacktop, and something solidified within.  
It was big, black, hideous, and damned scary. Basic outline: a huge dog, but instead of fur, its hide was covered in thick, black scales, shining with some weird ooze. It’s eyes were fiery red, like Crowley’s demon eyes, only more burning. Its teeth, well, best description Cas could think of was a muzzle full of deboning knives. They even glinted like sharp metal.  
“What is _that_?” Cas managed, revulsion thick in his voice.  
A soft kind of smile pulled around Crowley’s mouth. “This,” he said, patting the shoulder of that beast lovingly. “Is Juliet. She is my best hellhound. You should be honoured I’m letting her reap you.”  
Juliet huffed, and thick, yellowish vapour rose from her maw and nose. It smelled of sulphur.  
“Reap... me?” Cas had trouble looking away from the beast. “What does that mean?”  
“It means, Kitten,” Crowley patiently explained, “That she will be the one to take you down. Both figuratively and literal.”  
Cas felt a chill settle in his bones.  
“Not now though, Kitten,” Crowley soothed. “There’s still time left.”

They spent that time chatting idly, Crowley petting the hellhound absentmindedly.  
“Did you know Jimmy was psychic?” Cas casually asked the Crossroads demon.  
Crowley shrugged. ”Yes. It was why Azazel picked him. That blood, it made those abilities stronger.”  
A sense of foreboding stiffened Castiel’s back. “What? Does that mean he... he’ll come back for Jimmy?”  
Looking smug, Crowley smirked. “Nah. The plan was to have some sort of messed up ‘Hunger Games’-like showdown somewhere remote, but a couple of nosy bodies managed to prevent it. They stopped the opening of the Devil’s Gate, and somehow managed to kill Azazel.” He looked pensive all of a sudden. “Still wonder how those dumbasses did it. It’s not easy, taking down one of the Princes.”  
Curious, despite himself, Cas leaned in, not minding the sulphur breathing monster at their feet any more. “Princes?”

Weighing his options, Crowley squinted at him. “Princes of Hell. Four of them,” he finally said. “Azazel, Asmodeus, Remiel and Dagon. They’re old, Castiel. Older than most of us. And they’re powerful! Azazel was the most... ambitious. He was loyal to the big Plan. I don’t know what that is, but he once told me it was set in motion and it would happen one way or another. He did seem to like Jimmy best of all the choices.” Crowley shrugged. “I don’t know why. The kid is positively scrawny compared to some of the others, plus his ability is a passive one, where Max can move things telekinetically, and Andy can make people do what he wants, Jimmy just has those premonitions, or visions.” He smirked. “Quite useless, if I say so myself. But Azazel was positive James was going to be the One. The leader of the Demon Army that was supposed to march out of the Devil’s Gate. Never happened, never will happen. The nosy twats took the key with them, after they killed him. Inconsiderate I tell you.”  
Cas couldn’t care less. “Je m’en fout, Crowley, as long as Jimmy is safe.”  
Crowley hummed. “You care. You _actually_ care about a guy you only saw once in your life. Humans. You’ll never cease to amaze me.” He sighed, regret etched on his face. “I am sorry, Castiel. Time is almost up.”

Cas gulped, then steeled himself. “Can.. can we do this... outside? Less traumatising for Bobby, once he comes looking for me.”  
Not speaking, Crowley nodded once.  
They stood and made their way to a clearing, not far from the cabin, Juliet sauntering along.  
When they halted, the night was clear and above them stars twinkled.  
“Well, this is it, Kitten,” Crowley said, once again uncharacteristically sober. “I’d bid you farewell, if I didn’t know where you were headed.”  
Cas deadpanned, strangely void of any feelings. “Goodbye, Crowley,” he merely said.  
Crowley nodded, then turned to Juliet. “Now you be a good girl,” he told her. “Don’t play with your food. He doesn’t deserve that. He only made the deal to not bother his mother. He said it was so he could live in peace, knowing he’d never see her abandoning face, but I knew his true intentions. He thinks he’s poison, and no-one should care for him, because he’ll ruin them. In doing so, he ruined himself. Go easy on him, girl. Ok?”  
Damnit, the demon had him dead bang. But who cared anymore, Cas was doomed anyway.  
Juliet huffed out another cloud of sulphur and licked Crowley’s hand with a forked tongue.  
Far, far off, a church clock started chiming the midnight hour.  
Juliet’s ears pricked up, and she started growling.  
“I’m so sorry, Castiel,” Crowley said and turned away, poofing off just as Juliet made her first prowling steps towards Cas.  
Cas closed his eyes and waited.

To say it hurt was an understatement. No, it was beyond agony!  
Juliet had prowled around until the last stroke of midnight, and then she’d pounced.  
The sheer force had knocked all the wind out of Cas, and he barely had time to recover when the first claw tore at him. It it gave a searing, throbbing burn, and the next tearing was worse. Juliet clawed open his arms, his legs and then his chest, making him scream at every drag of her claws.  
Her saliva dripped in the wounds, making the pooling blood bubble and hiss as it came in contact.  
The saliva itself seemed acidic and burned even worse than the claws.  
“Please,” Cas whispered. “Please, Crowley said to go easy... please...”  
Juliet tilted her head, the red glow in her eyes dimming a bit. She huffed a warm, sulphuric breath over his face before gently fitting her maw over Cas’ neck.  
The tips of her knife-like teeth punctured little holes, the saliva burning them wider.  
Cas guessed that with a creature built for messy, torturous kills, this was merciful.  
“Thank you,” he told the beast. She whuffed softly, and that was the last thing Cas heard, before she tore out his throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations French - English: 
> 
> Salaud - bastard  
> Âne - ass  
> Chaton - kitten (term of endearment)  
> Sacre bleu - Holy shit (lit. Holy blue. Idk either)  
> Je m’en fout - I don’t give a f*ck


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so frikken sorry, my sunshines!  
> Real Life™️ bugged me big time, and I had 2 challenges I’m writing for, plus a whole new one I’m modding. This fic kinda was the collateral damage. I’ll try and be better in updating!

With a jolt, Cas opened his eyes, only to meet more darkness. “H’llo?” he tried, but his throat was bone dry, so what came out was a raspy, thin sound. His fingers tentatively reached out in front of him, meeting rough wood within inches. Heart in throat, Cas tried to yell for help, but the reedy sounds he made hurt his throat and carried nowhere. He fumbled for his trusty lighter, desperate to see. His elbows knocked against more wood as he moved. He was in a box. A rough, wooden box, and he wondered whether this was a nightmare, or real.   
The lighter sparked, then caught flame and Cas saw the wooden planks an inch from his nose. Shit. Either a very small packing crate, or.... a coffin.   
Using what little leverage he could manage within the small box, he punched at the wood, ignoring splinters and scrapes, he kept going, until the planks cracked and he got a face full of dirt, tumbling down from the hole he’d punched.  
Glad his father, rotten bastard that he was, had made him go through ‘being buried alive’ trainings, Cas let himself sink in the known actions, slowly but surely getting himself out.  
The sun was beating down on him as he clambered from his grave, flopping down to catch his breath.  
Once he got his strength back, he stood.  
Stunned he let his gaze travel a full circle. In a thirty foot radius, every tree, big or small, was flattened to the ground, the grave he’d just emerged from dead centre. He tried to swallow, but his mouth and throat were like sand.  
Survival instincts kicking in, he started walking to where he thought there would be a road.

After a gruelling, exhausting hike, Cas hit a dirt road.  
The dust and heat did nothing to make him more comfortable. He’d tied his green plaid button up around his waist, but still the sun beat down on him mercilessly, the very air oppressive. Cas trudged down the road, his feet scuffing up clouds of dust that tickled his parched throat even more. His mind was swirling. Last thing he remembered was Juliet, sinking her teeth in his esophagus and windpipe, the acid of her saliva searing away his flesh. And now he was up and walking. Whole, as it were.  
His throat clicked when he tried to swallow again. He didn’t get how he got out. He couldn’t fathom _why_ he got out.  
Squinting, a hand against his brow to shield his eyes, he peered through the shimmering air, down the road. At a T-crossing, he saw the outline of a low building. Habitation! That meant water at least! He picked up the pace, hope propelling him forward faster.

It was a gas station. Closed, but that didn’t bother Cas one bit. He wrapped his hand in his plaid and knocked in a pane of glass from the door. He made his way inside, and hurried to where a buzzing soda fridge held numerous bottles of several kinds of soda, but also plain old water.  
He grabbed one, chugging half of it down in one go. The cool, soothing feel of it sliding down his throat, perked Cas right up. He breathed out a relieved sigh, then drank the rest of the bottle at a more steady pace.   
Since there was no-one around, Cas felt he was allowed to snoop a bit. He wandered to the bathroom, washed his face and his hands with blessedly cool water. Then he dried himself off and started checking himself in the mirror. His throat, where he could still feel the phantom pressure of those insane, knife-like teeth, was pristine. Not a wound in sight, not even a scab. He checked his arms, where those sharp claws had dug in, nothing.   
Cas gulped. His chest. Juliet had torn it to ribbons, acidic saliva dripping in the wounds. Surely something should be visible there...  
He lifted his shirt slowly, marvelling at the stretch of whole, healthy skin that kept growing.  
Until he got to his pecs.   
“What the Hell?” he muttered, peering closer at the mirror. A patch of fiery red, raised skin started to appear. Cas swallowed hard, then yanked his shirt up to his neck.  
On his left pectoral, right over his heart, a burn scar stood, eerily shaped like a handprint. It was like someone, or some _thing_ had either pushed him, hard, or maybe grabbed him around the chest from behind, leaving that scar in the process.

Shaking himself, Cas dropped his shirt again. Those puzzles were for later to be solved.  
First things first.  
He grabbed a granola bar, because now that his thirst was quenched a bit, his stomach rebelled, clamouring for sustenance.  
For a musty old bar, it tasted better than anything. Munching, Cas grabbed a paper, checking the date.  
“July 18th?” he mumbled, quickly doing the mental math. Four months. He somehow lost four whole months!   
His thoughts screeched to a halt. Bobby. He’d have to tell him he was ok! The old guy would be worried sick!  
Figuring the station was abandoned, Cas grabbed whatever he wanted and stuffed it in a plastic bag. Food, drinks, some magazines to catch up, and the money from the till, since he’d have to get to Sioux Falls somehow.

The little tv-set behind the counter suddenly switched on, the hiss of static startling Cas a little.  
Cautiously, he turned the dial until it clicked off.  
Not two seconds later, the radio did the exact same thing, switching through channels so fast, any sound it made was garbled.  
Fuck. This was bad! Cas grabbed a container of salt and began laying down the lines, when a high pitched ringing hurt his ears and made his eardrums throb. He pressed one hand to his ear, the other continuing to pour salt.  
The ringing rose in both volume and pitch, and Cas ducked to protect himself.  
All the windows in the station blew up, showering Cas with tiny shards of glass.  
Cas rolled away from the windows, just as he thought he could hear, _sense_ , something big swoop right over the gas station.  
After that, everything was blessedly quiet.  
Shaking, Cas got to his feet, grabbed his little plastic bag of supplies, and warily cased the terrain outside of the shop.  
Nothing.  
Deciding the best thing was to make himself scarce, before whatever the Hell that was, came swooping back and make Cas into a lunch burrito, Cas darted outside to where an old pay phone stood. In theory he knew how these things worked, but never used one, always having a cellphone on him.  
Beggars can’t be choosers though, so he put a few quarters in the coin-slot, and dialled the number from memory.  
“Hello?” The gruff voice of his surrogate father had Cas nearly tear up. “Bobby?” he punched out.  
“Yeah,” was the grumpy reply. “Who’s askin’?”  
Feeling he could weep with how much he loved the grumpy old coot, Cas chuckled. “It’s me, Cas!”  
The line instantly disconnected. Confused, Cas stared at the receiver, wondering if he’d done something wrong.  
He pressed the hook down, gathered his quarters and tried again.  
“Bobby, listen,” he started saying, but Bobby growled and barked out a warning. “This ain’t funny! If you ever call me again, I’ll track ya down and kill ya!” he snarled, before hanging up again.  
Cas stared at the horn in shock. That was... disturbing. He looked around, thinking, when his eye fell on an old pick-up. It wasn’t Honey, but it would have to do.  
He hot-wired the truck and with a happy sigh, he pulled away.

 


End file.
